Life's Full of Little Surprise
Disclaimer: I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.
Summary: Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!
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BrokenAngel1753- Yes, poor Charlie. But, you're correct, it is all in the name of comedy and entertainment. I'm glad you liked, I tried to think of the worst thing that someone would dare another to do. You must admit, that would be bad.
PrincessH- You wouldn't expect Fulton to get embarrassed, but it just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by it's cover! Hope you like what happens next.
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Monday mornings are possibly the most evil and vile things that one would have to deal with. Well, Monday mornings and Ruth Delaney. This insanely rich and snobby fifth grader and her posse were the reason that Monica Banks dreaded school. Now, Monica was an All-A student and an all around good person, but if Ruth pushed her any farther, the Banks' would be experiencing their first call from a principle, EVER! Monica was truly ready to beat this girl to a pulp. "Hey, Ana." Monica said as she sat down in her schools cafeteria before classes began.
"Hey, Monica." Ana replied, "I've been wanting to ask you, who were you talking with when mama and I came and picked you up on Saturday?" Ana put a piece of pop tart to her mouth.
"Oh, that was my brother, Jamie." Monica replied, "He brought his friends from Nevada and he came to visit. I've been dying to see him."
"That was your brother?" Monica nodded, "Wow, defiantly different from the rest of your family." Monica nodded again with a smile creeping onto her face, "Oh, goodness, look who it is." Ana exclaimed as she looked over to the door of the cafeteria.
"Ruth!" Monica said spitefully, "What's she up to?" It didn't take long for that question to be answered. Ruth and her lackies, Maureen Jacobs and Lizzy Taylor, strutted up to the one part of the cafeteria that only the teachers and one student ever went to. "Oh, no! Becky!" Becky Orion was the one student, and no one had ever bothered to get to know her because of the fact that she was in a wheelchair. This also made her an easy target for bullies like Ruth. Quick as a whip, Ana and Monica leaped from their seats and went to the 'Forbidden Zone', as that particular area was called.
"Hello, Becky." Ruth said in a sickly sweet voice, "What are you doing in this fine morning?"
"Hi, Ruth. Hi, Maureen. Hi, Lizzy." Becky replied in a monotone voice. Was it time for her daily dose of Hell already? "I'm eating. It's not really that exciting." Becky lifted her cheerio filled spoon to her lips.
"So, leave her alone." Becky turned her head in surprise. Someone was actually standing up for her? "I mean it, Ruth."
"Banks, Simmons." Ruth said in her bitchiest voice, "What makes you think that you can boss me around?"
"I wasn't under the impression that I was bossing you around, Ruth." Monica responded in a calm and almost apathetic voice, "I just mean that Becky would probably prefer to eat her breakfast in peace, as opposed to being hounded by you and your watchdogs." Maureen and Lizzy gaped at her in mounting anger.
"Why you little..." Ruth began.
"Ah, ah, ah." Ana said, shaking a finger warningly, "You wouldn't want Mr. Zalbo to get the wrong idea, would you?" Ruth turned and saw their principle enter the chatter-filled cafeteria.
"And, Ruth, dear," Monica said, highlighting on Ruth's temporary mental incapacitation, "you can't call us little, we're about two inches taller then you. Each." Monica smiled and turned to Becky, "Hey, Becky, do you want to come and sit with us?"
"I don't know if I should." Becky said in a slightly confused voice. She knew that both Monica and Ana were nice people, but she was also rather accustomed to being a loner.
"Of course you should!" Ana replied, "We'll carry these." She added, noticing the difficultly that Becky would have bringing her food over to their table and rolling her wheelchair.
"Thanks." Becky said in an appreciative, yet still rather confused, voice.
"Don't mention it." Monica told her as she picked up Becky's cheerios. Ana waved a sassy goodbye to Ruth, Maureen, and Lizzy as they gaped indignantly at the passing trio. "I think you'll like over here better." Monica said as she placed Becky's food at the end of hers and Ana's favorite table.
"You didn't have to do that, you know." Becky said sheepishly, "I've kind of gotten used to the torment."
"Well, then you have a problem." Ana replied, "You shouldn't have to take that kind of treatment from demon spawn like them." Then something else hit her, "Becky, if you don't mind me asking, why are you in a wheelchair?"
"I was in an accident." Becky said vaguely in a nonchalant voice, "Don't worry, I'm not contagious or anything." Becky put her hand in her chin, "Ruth trying to spell 'contagious', now that would be comedy." Monica and Ana broke into hysterical laughs.
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"Come on Ducks!" Ted Orion called, "Pick up the pace!" He watched as his team scrimmage with his inner pride growing like a wild fire. No matter what he yelled, they listened, and his pride grew larger still. The new Varsity. He was sure with the right amount of hard work, they would win the state championship. Hard work. Everything in his life had become hard work. With having this job and Becky and the other personal issues he was dealing with a the moment, every little thing seemed to be magnified tenfold. If anything, he was overjoyed that he had Eric around to help again. He was a very loving uncle, and would go to the ends of the Earth for Becky, and that helped tremendously. And Eric's team seemed to light a fire under Becky's current interests as well. It was a complete shock when to him when he came home and Becky asked him about the history of the Olympics. When he asked her why, she told him that Dani had been talking about past Winter Olympics; gold metal winners and teams and controversial decisions,Tenley Albright (who ever the heck that was), and what have you. Strange girl, Dani Portman was. Then he blew his whistle, "Okay, that's it for today."
"Thank you, Coach." Goldberg exclaimed, "You're an Angel of Mercy!"
"Dude!" Dean called out, "What the hell have you been doing? You've either been between the posts or on your ass!" Everyone agreed. Well, everyone except Julie.
"Hey!" Julie called out as she skated over to the rest of her team, "You try playing goalie sometime. It isn't exactly a pleasure cruise. We do actually work." She pulled out her water bottle and to a long swig. "Brainless enforcer."
"Wait just one minute!" Fulton yelled out incredulously, "I resent that remark!"
"I was talking about him." Julie said, pointing to Dean, "I didn't mean you, Fulton. You aren't brainless."
"Oh. Okay Cat-lady." Fulton replied, "You're forgiven."
"I'm not a brainless enforcer." Dean mumbled sorely, "I can score too. So I can't be that brainless."
"Yeah, you can score." Max said sincerely as he slapped Dean on the back, "When you use your sister's plays!" He added as a joke. Dean shoved him away with a scowl.
"Your sister comes up with plays?" Orion asked with his eyebrows raised. Dani, tiny, figure skating Dani, knew how to come up with effective plays? Well, this was different. What a minute, she was related to Portman, she had to have picked up something.
"Yup." Dean said, "Her play was the reason that my older brother, Alec, got the winning shot in the Illinois High School Hockey State Championship when he was a senior." Julie raised her eyebrows at this statement. "What, Cat-lady."
"Dani told Connie and I that Alec was in his second year at the University of Illinois." Dean nodded, "So that meant that she was in the eight grade when she came up with this play." Dean nodded again. He was asking something along the lines of 'What's your point' with his eyes. "Okay, then." Was all Julie said as she stepped off of the ice. Dean rolled his eyes, women were so confusing, he learned that with Dani.
"Get in the locker room, all of you." Orion said as he stepped out of the way to let the Ducks pass. "Fifteen minutes." Once they were all in the locker room, Ted made his way to his office. Strangely enough, Dani was standing in the hall, probably waiting for Dean, "Dani?"
"Hello, sir." Dani replied.
"You don't have to call me that."
"Actually I kind of do, sir." Dani said, "You see, I can't call you 'Coach Orion', because that would get way too confusing. And I really can't think of anything else to call you. Let's just stick with 'sir' for now."
Ted laughed. Witty, she really was, "Can ask you something?"
Dani smirked, "I don't know, can you?" Orion got the joke, "Shoot, what do you want to know?"
"Well, who the heck is Tenley Albright?" Dani raised her eyebrow in confusion, "Becky said that you were talking about someone by that name, I was just wondering who she was."
"Tenley Albright was the gold metal winner for figure skating in the 1956 Olympics." Dani replied, "Before the games, she fell and her left skate cut through her right boot and scraped her bone and slashed a vein. Her dad was a surgeon and patched her up. She still won."
"You know a lot about past Olympics, don't you?"
"Yup. I've always been an Olympic history buff. Don't really know why." Dani said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "But the 1956 Winter Olympics is kind of my specialty." Orion raised his eyebrows in questioning, "That was the year my grandfather was in the Olympics. Hockey, Team Italy." A loud beeping broke the momentary silence, "Fabulous, more smiling and being gracious to reporters I want to throttle. If you will excuse me, I have to get ready to face the press. Evil, demonic creatures they are." Dani mumbled as she walked away.
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"Portman, man, what the heck is with you?" Max asked as Dean moodily gathered his things together.
Dean sighed, "Just thinking about that thing on winter sports that we watched over at cake-eater's house on Saturday." Max had figured that that was Dean's problem.
"Although, you have to admit, she looked good for 80's quality video." Russ said, Dean closed his eyes and then turned while opening them.
"Dude, that was my mom." Dean retorted in a voice that implied that he was going to kill Russ very soon, "Don't ever say that again or your death will be quite painful." Russ backed off holding his hands up in surrender. "Cake-eater, pick up your phone, it's getting annoying." He finished. Everyone agreed; Adam's phone, which had been going off for that past five minutes, was seriously getting irritating.
"Chill, guys." Adam said as he exited the shower, "Hello?"
"Adam?"
"Monica? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"No, I'm fine. It's just that... Well, we're over at Aunt Lisa's and Jamie is over here too and he and dad are going to start going at it soon, I can tell, it's just like before. Can you come over here for a little while?" Monica said, close to tears of anger, "Just until they stop. Please."
Adam sighed heavily. Jamie and his dad could never keep their arguments away from Monica. It extremely pissed him off, she was only ten! "Sure, baby-girl, I'll be over there in a second. How about I take you Mickey's until it's over."
"Please."
"I'll be right there." Monica thanked him and hung up. Adam sighed heavily again and unceremoniously stuffed all of his belongings into his hockey bag. "I'll see you guys later. I have a problem to deal with."
"Another problem." Charlie said, "How are you going to get Monica? You can't drive yet, and it's like an hour to your house."
"Well, then it's a good thing that Monica isn't at my house." Charlie looked confused, "She's with my parents at my Aunt Lisa's." Charlie's confusion deepened, Adam didn't have an Aunt Lisa. "She's my godmother and she lives about five minutes away from here if you walk. Monica probably didn't want to walk alone, what with all the kidnapping stories that my parents keep reciting. I'll see you later." Adam slung his bag over his shoulder and ran to his dorm room. From there he threw his bag on his bed and ran to his Aunt Lisa's.
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Adam had kept his promise, he picked Monica up at his Aunt Lisa's and he had taken her to Mickey's. But that was then, and now he was taking Monica to his house for the night. However, Jamie's fight with their dad had transitioned from Lisa's to their own house. Monica and Adam stood in the shadows, behind the door that led to their kitchen, "What is your problem?" Jamie asked angrily, "Why do you hate them so much?"
"Just look what they have done to you!" Philip Banks shot back, "Tattoos and those clothes and..."
"My clothes! That's your problem?" Jamie yelled, "Here's a memo dad. These clothes, this attitude that you hate so much. It all happened before I even met Thalia, Cara, Ava, or Rob! This came from me being able to pick out what I wanted to wear without having to worry about your criticism!"
"You ungrateful little..." Philip yelled back, "I criticized because I cared about how you were perceived! I cared!"
"Philip!" Corrine Banks broke through
"You only cared about what other people thought. All I was to you was something that made you look bad! You never cared about me as a son!" Jamie replied lividly, "I don't care about what people think about me!" Than Jamie added an afterthought, "And you never cared about Adam as a son until that freak Reilly had Adam's own former teammate and best friend smash him into that goalpost!"
"Don't you tell me what I feel about my own children!"
"But, you know what, I don't care!" Jamie continued as if there had been no interruption, "I don't even see why I thought that things would be different when you had gotten to know the Ducks. Everything about me doesn't fit into your perfect 1950's world. Don't even bother coming to my wedding." A distinct gasp of hurt escaped Corrine's lips. "I'm leaving tomorrow, that should make you happy."
Adam saw the look of sadness on Monica's face reach an all time high, "NO!" She called out and ran into the kitchen and jumped into Jamie's arms, "Don't leave Jamie! Please stay!"
"Honey bear." Jamie replied softly as Monica held onto him, "I have to go back to Nevada and get back to collage."
"Yeah, but after that, you won't ever come back." Monica hugged him tightly.
"Jamie, please take your sister to bed." Corrine said, "Would you mind?" Jamie shook his head no, switched Monica to his back, and walked out towards the stairs. Once Jamie and Monica passed him, Adam followed.
"Hey, squirt, honey bear, it's okay." Jamie said, trying to sooth Monica. He placed her on her bed and stroked her hair, "I'll always be here for you." He wiped a tear from her cheek, "You too, little man!" Jamie called through Monica's door. Adam walked in and close the door behind him, "I want both of you to know that you have to keep your summer at least a little open."
"Why?" Adam asked.
"Well, I first of all, I need a best man." Jamie replied as he pushed Adam onto Monica's bed, "And secondly, I need someone to keep this little trouble maker in line." He added to Monica. "Look, I want you two to be there. And feel free to bring a date." Jamie added, winking at Adam. Adam rolled his eyes. "I have to go. I'll see you both later." Monica said goodbye and Adam followed Jamie out of his room, "If you don't ask Dani out soon, I will have failed as a big brother." Jamie added before walking out the front door and slamming it closed.
"Well, he's gone." Adam heard his father say in the kitchen. "Corrine, dear, you don't have to do that." Adam looked in the kitchen, trying not to be seen, and saw his mother was reorganizing the leftovers in the refrigerator.
"Well, what else can I do to keep my mind off of the fact that I'm not invited to my own son's wedding." Corrine said in an attempt to sound not too angry.
"Corrine, don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it!" Corrine said in shock, "This is our son and his wedding that we are talking about." She dropped a metal object that sent a loud clang through the house, "Philip, I love you, and that is why I am finally saying this. You aren't right about everything all the time! The only times that you have ever realized that was when something drastic has happened."
"Corrine, what are you talking about?" Philip asked in an exasperated tone.
"Adam and the goalpost! That scare with Monica a few years back! Need I go on?" Monica's scare had been when Philip was trying to get her into shopping with her mother. Monica had been so bored that she wandered away, causing her mother to panic. Monica never went shopping again, unless it was completely necessary. "Philip, please, I don't want to lose my son again. Talk to him."
"The boy doesn't want to talk! He's completely irrational!" Philip replied, "And you make it sound as if it is my fault that Jamie is that way."
"Well, dear, the apple doesn't all far from the tree." Corrine responded, "You were never exactly son of the year." Philip made to protest, "What is the only reason that you didn't want Adam to go to Eden Hall?" Philip sighed, but Adam closed the door all of the way but pressed his ear to it, "Come on, Philip, it's an easy question."
"Tom Reily." Philip finally said defeated. Adam was shocked. Tom Reily, Rick Reily's father and reason that the Ducks nearly lost their scholarships, had history with his dad!
"Exactly!" Corrine said, "Tom Reily. Your high school nemesis. Rival schools, rival everything. Be it, hockey, football, baseball, basketball, anything, you two were in the thick of it! That didn't make your father all that happy, but you got into fights and played pranks anyway." Adam's eyes grew. His dad was a prankster? Since when?
"Corrine, that's all in the past."
"And so is what happened with Jamie. Talk to him or in the end, I promise you, you will regret it!"
"Are you implying that it is my fault that Jamie is so estranged from us?"
"I wasn't saying that. But now that I think about it, yes." Adam's jaw dropped, "Philip, I do blame you for pushing Jamie out the door. But I blame myself even more for not pulling him back in. I want to know our son, I want to know his future wife, and most importantly, I want to know our grandchildren when they come along. Jamie knows that I love him, and I will try to keep in contact with him. The question is, does he matter to you." Philip tried to talk, but nothing came out, "I'm going to bed. Please try to be quiet when you come up." Adam stood up and walked out the door.
The sky had long since become dark, but Adam didn't care. Rain was falling lightly, but quickly gaining speed. Adam walked back towards Eden Hall with out caring about anything, especially if he was going to get back in time for curfew. He just thought. His dad had known Tom Reily and had had a feud with him. He, Adam Banks, had almost not gone to the preppiest school around because of it. Terry and Jesse would never believe that! But mostly, Adam thought about the fact that his mother and father had had a fight. They never fought; they were the freaking Cleavers! Oh, well, at least he knew that no body had a perfect life. His family was the evidence of that.